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Beautiful, sexy and exotic, Alexandra "Alex" Hunter is a friend and past lover of Neal Caffrey. She works as a black-market fence and thief. She has worked with Neal in the past on various crimes, including a previous attempt to steal the amber music box. Neal contacts her with the hope that she has information about the location of the music box, but she refused to work with him until he could prove that he could get out of his tracking anklet "when the time comes." After doing so, she agreed to try and steal the music box with him again, and they eventually succeed.

In the Season 1 finale, she helps Neal and Mozzie steal it from the Italian Consulate in exchange for a discrete way out of the country to hide from the people looking for her. She was sent to Italy, funded by the FBI.

She was mentioned in the Season 2 premiere, when Mozzie told Neal that she went underground after the Italian Consulate incident and the death of Kate Moreau. Later, she appears as a thief, stealing back pieces from the Almaranta from people she had fenced the pieces to. Neal convinces her to steal the music box again from the home of Agent Diana Barrigan and give it anonymously to the Russian Museum in order to get the 'target off [her] back.' Later, she stays long enough to finally give Neal her phone number, assuring him that she will pick up the phone for him.

Alex is first introduced as a pickpocketer that Neal is watching. Neal swaps out the wallet of her mark, Joe Nelson, for a wallet with a yellow origami flower. When Alex finds the flower, she immediately searches for Neal, and they reunite. She expresses her dismay that despite spending four years in prison, he's 'still the best' and a 'show off.' They exchange wallets, and she asks what Neal wants. Neal tells her he needs her expertise and shows her a picture of the music box. Alex rhetorically asks if he's finally admitting to never having the box, and Neal tells her that she 'got closer than anyone else.' Alex replies, 'We got closer, but it didn't work out,' indicating that they had teamed up to steal it, but failed. Neal suggests that they try again, but Alex rebuffs him, claiming that she gave up on the music box 'a long time ago.' However, Neal disproves her claim by producing a golden piece of the music box taken from Alex's purse. Alex claims that she was nostalgic and couldn't bring herself to part with it. She tells Neal that she has no more information about the music box, and Neal offers the origami flower to her, telling her that his number is inside, 'in case,' and bids her goodbye.

That evening, Alex appears in Neal's apartment and calls him out for turning Fed. Alex asks him if he really thought he could keep that information from her, and Neal admits to hoping that she wouldn't find out about it. Alex asks if he's trying to set her up, and Neal tells her that he's pursuing something they both want to have. He then asks what she's found out about the music box.

Alex asks why he's suddenly after the music box once more, and Neal claims that he 'couldn't look for it in prison,' but now that he was out, he was free to do it again. He also claims that he was starting to miss her. Alex dismisses the latter comment, but tells Neal that she tracked down the fence who gave her the piece of the music box she had. The fence claims that there has been active chatter about the music box, and Neal tells her that they have to get the box first before anyone else. Alex suspects that there is more to it than his desire to find the box, but they are interrupted by Peter Burke, who has decided to take up Neal on his offer to share his apartment while his house's wiring system was being upgraded. Neal convinces Alex that Peter can't know she's there about the music box, and they pretend to have been in the middle of a romantic evening. Peter tries to excuse himself, but when he introduces himself as an FBI agent, Alex tells Neal that they're done, spells F-E-D on the Scrabble tiles Neal had out, and leaves.

Later, Alex walks into the middle of an FBI operation and blows Neal's cover as payback for the FBI running her prints.

At the end, Neal tries to slip a white origami flower into her bag, but Alex catches him and claims that the flowers have lost their charm. Neal apologizes for lying to her, and Alex tells him that she knows better than to trust him. Neal expresses the same sentiment, but claims he's 'willing to take a leap of faith.' Alex then tells him that she knows where the music box is. Neal asks her to tell him, but Alex says that so long as Neal works for the FBI, he will never know.

Alex appears at Neal's apartment, claiming she got his message, and asks him what she wants. Neal tells her he wants the music box, and she reminds him that so long as he's tied to the FBI, she's not going to help him. Neal promises to make it worth her while and claims she needs him to get it. Alex denies it, and Neal points out that if she didn't need him, she should've had the box by now. He promises to give it to her after he's done with it. Alex gives him an ultimatum--if Neal can get out of the anklet by 6 PM the next day, she'll tell him where the box is.

Alex is in Neal's apartment when he walks in, anklet-free. She points out that he's late, and he tells her it's been a 'long day.' Alex asks him how he slipped out of the anklet, and Neal gives her a vague answer before reminding her that he's kept his promise, and that it was Alex's turn to fulfill her end of their deal. Alex compromises, saying that if she gives the information to Neal, then they'll get the box together and split it 50-50. Neal rhetorically asks her what she'd do with half a music box. Alex ignores the jib and tells him that if he screws her over, she can make his life miserable. Neal asks her when she became so distrustful, and Alex tells him that it happened when Kate happened. Neal tells her that 'that's over now,' and Alex gives him a pink origami flower. Neal compliments her flower, and Alex tells him she 'learned from the best.' She watches him read the content of the flower, then tells him that she'll see him soon, and leaves.

Alex is swimming in a pool when Neal shows up. She invites him into the pool, telling him that while she knows he's wearing the anklet, she's not sure if he's wired. Once Neal is in the pool, he asks where the music box is located. Alex reminds him that they're getting it together, then tells him it's in the Italian Consulate. The Consulate General put it in his private safe the year before and was flying in the next month to pick it up. Neal tells her that the consulate is a hard target, and Alex informs him that they were hosting a party in a week. Neal is willing to go, but asks what would happen if the Consulate General discovered the box was gone. Alex points out that since the Nazis stole the music box from the Russians, the Consulate General wasn't supposed to have it in the first place and could therefore not report the robbery. Neal then changes the topic, telling her that while he knows why he's naked, he's curious to know why she is too.

While planning the heist at Neal's apartment, Alex deliberately withholds which vault the box is in to ensure that Neal doesn't steal it without her. She does, however, tell him that the vault is high-security and torch-resistant, and Mozzie tells them they'll need heavy metal to get through the fire-resistant plate. Neal tells him they'll think of the details later and worry about party invitations first. Alex tells them that she's already looked at the list and is leaning towards Ignacious Barten. When Neal asks 'why him?' she tells him that Ignacious is a duke, and she rebuffs Neal's rebuke for a less conspicuous partner with, "I've always wanted to dance with a duke." When she asks what Neal's in is, he tells her he's going to make a generous donation to the people of Italy. Peter walks in then, and Alex and Mozzie take their leave.

Alex enters Neal's apartment while he's working on a sculpture, and Neal asks how her date went. She expresses her awe at the 'kinds of places a duke gets access to,' and Neal points out that she was supposed to be getting a spot as the duke's plus one. Alex counters that she's just having a little fun while she's at it. She then gives Neal a "Wow" comment for his 'gift to the Italians,' and Neal tells her it's Fancelli's study, the Statue of Divo Cano. Alex looks at the photos Neal has, then looks at the statue Neal has made, telling him 'it's beautiful' and that it 'looks like the real thing.' Neal tells her not to let it fool her. Alex tells him she won't be fooled, then changes the subject to Neal's anklet. Neal assures her that he'll get it off, and offers her a glass of wine.

When the statue is done, Neal and Alex are relaxing on his couch and reminiscing about the last time they were 'this close to getting the box.' Neal remembers it was in Copenhagen, and that they snuck into the Amalienborg Palace and hung out with the Royal family. Alex reveals that she has a scar on her arm, received when she jumped off a gatehouse. Neal guiltily comments that it 'healed nicely.' Alex accuses him of not visiting her in the hospital, where Neal rebukes that she didn't visit him in prison either, and they agree that they both cut each other out, because that's who they were. Alex is just revealing that she knows that Neal is going after the box because of Kate when Neal's tracking anklet is deactivated.

Alex arrives at the consulate as Duke Barten's date and finds Neal at the bar. Neal signals to her that the keycard they need is in the manager's right pocket, and she swipes it from him when Mozzie creates a distraction. She passes the keycard to Neal and wishes him luck, moving to return to the duke with a few drinks when Neal stops her and asks which safe the box is in. She tells him it's a triple-walled case-hardened steel, 1943 McKinsey safe. Neal notes that it wasn't an easy in, and Alex comments that it's more fun that way. She then returns to her date and watches Neal make a spectacle of himself in order to get caught. While Neal was being led off into the inner sanctum of the consulate, Alex planted timed smoke bombs disguised as lipsticks and left. After Neal retrieves the music box, she tricks him into letting her through the hallway, swipes the keycard from him, and takes the bag containing the music box, locking Neal in the hallway. She slips the card through the grates though, so that he can escape after she's gone.

Later, she appears to June and convinces her to let her see Neal, showing her the music box. June lets her in and brings her to Neal, who is relieved to see her and the box. Neal tells her he didn't expect to see her again, and she says she was thinking the same thing and offers him the box, telling him to take it before she changed her mind. Neal tells her that she doesn't know what it means for her to be giving the box to him, but Alex counters that, telling him that she does understand. She then says that she hopes Kate is still the same person Neal wants her to be. Neal asks her why she brought him the box if she didn't trust Kate, and Alex explains that she doesn't want to say goodbye to him, in case Kate's not the girl Neal wants after all. She also reasons that she doesn't need the people after Neal to come after her too. Neal commends her for always making smart decisions, and she tells him to try doing the same some time, then leaves the apartment.

Alex returns to New York to speak with Mozzie, whom Neal has asked to find information on a stolen Thayer painting. Alex tells Neal that the missing Thayer painting was fenced in Dubai. Neal thanks her, but suspects that she didn't come to New York just to tell him about her findings. Alex claims that she needs to talk to Mozzie alone. Mozzie wonders what he did, and Alex assures him they would talk once Neal left. Neal asks if they're not friends anymore, but Peter calls, and he doesn't hear Alex's answer. Neal announces that he has to return to the office and tells Alex that they would talk later. When Neal is far away enough, Mozzie asks her what they're talking about. Alex begins to tell him that she has 'a big problem,' and Mozzie cuts her off, beckoning her to follow him.

She and Mozzie are in the middle of an argument when Neal arrives at his apartment. When he asks if there is anything he can do, Alex tells him she doesn't need his help, while Mozzie says that she does. Neal starts to rebuke her, but Mozzie speaks up and tells him someone's looking for Alex. Neal asks who, and Mozzie says Alex 'thinks it has something to do with the music box.' Neal asks why, he cuts Mozzie off and asks Alex to speak for herself. Alex explains that she doesn't know who, but that they were powerful and had turned over a lot of stones. When Neal asks again what he can do, Alex reveals that she's been selling Krugerrunds incrementally so that she could use the money to disappear, and that Mozzie hooked her up with Russell Smith, an old friend of his from Detroit who deals with Krugerrunds. However, Russell found out that someone was offering money to find Alex and was ready to sell her out, which is why she needed Mozzie to stop Russell. Mozzie says that 'short of killing him,' he's 'open to ideas.' Exasperated, Alex starts to leave, but Neal placates her and asks for some time to figure something out, assuring her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Relieved, Alex thanks him and leaves.

Later, Neal recruits her help on a case, setting things up so that she'd be a mark for Eric, a member of the group that stole the Thayer painting. She and Neal played him at cards, betting $200 that the card Eric would stop at wouldn't be the card she'd picked. She would have won the bet, having removed the card from the deck, but is caught by the group leader, Professor Oswald. Assuring Eric that she and Neal weren't going to steal his money, she tells Eric to check his pocket, where he finds the $400 they'd betted. Humbled, Eric leaves, and Neal introduces her to Oswald, giving Oswald her real name and telling him that she was 'in the moving business.' After Oswald leaves, Alex exits the bar, frustrated at Mozzie for telling her to meet Neal at the bar, and at Neal because she's out $200 and for dropping her name. Neal asks her if she trusts him, and she replies no, but admits that she doesn't believe they're just 'baiting frat boys with bar tricks.' Neal then tells her that the group is his current case, and the solution to her problem with Russell. Alex spells out that Russell wants to meet that Sunday to get the rest of the Krugerrands, but it's a set-up for her, and she asks if his solution is to really bring the FBI into it. Neal explains that he's going to set Russell and the group up in one swoop, solving all their problems. Alex says he's crazy, but Neal is convinced that it will work. When he asks if she's in, Alex sighs and agrees.

The next day, she and Neal make a scene about things being 'all set' and him not backing out just because he 'made a mistake' and was 'spotted.' Once the set is done, Neal whispers for her to walk away, and she surprises him by asking if she could slap him, and does it before walking away.

Alex helps the FBI close the case by posing as the buyer for the Krugerrunds and the Thayer painting. Oswald is caught, and Peter gives her a plane ticket to Italy, assuring her that it would be a secured flight. He also tells her that they 'publicly thanked Russell for his thoughtful and continued cooperation with the FBI,' discrediting him from his underground contacts and from the people looking for her. Alex thanks him and tells him that Neal said he was the best, kisses him on the cheek thankfully, and leaves.

Later, Alex is just packing her things in a cab when Neal finds her. He teases her about a Matisse, about the size of the box she had placed in the backseat with her, that was believed to have been taken by Oswald, but wasn't found at his house. Alex promises to look out for it, saying she could use the reward money. Neal tells her to be careful, and she reciprocates the sentiment. She then gives Neal the last piece of the music box, saying that she's giving up her obsession. Neal comments that she's suggesting that he give up his obssession as well. Alex tells him that Kate's gone, but that the rest of them are still there. She kisses him. Neal bids her goodbye.

Alex has been stealing back pieces of the Almaranta shipwreck she had fenced before. Neal tracks her down and uses the FBI to find her, telling her that he had no other way of contacting her and commenting on her currrent work. She tells him that there are still people looking for her, which is why she can't afford to be creative. He cajoles her into taking the music box from Diana Barrigan's apartment and returning it to the Russians, stating that doing so would get the target off her back, plus Diana was in the van monitoring her supposed heist and her girlfriend had the nightshift, ensuring that the apartment would be empty. Enticed, Alex agrees.

She sneaks into Diana's bedroom via window and cracks the codes to open the build-in safe. She retrieves the music box and escapes just in time to avoid Diana, who had come home early from the stake out.

It can be safely presumed that she did give the music box to the Russian Consulate.

Later, she arrived at Neal's apartment to ask if the target really is off her back. Neal offers her a glass of wine and points out that whoever is after the music box should put their focus on the Russians now. When she asks if he'd gotten what he was after, Neal tells her that he found Fowler, but he still didn't know who killed Kate. Alex asks about the code embedded in the music box, and Neal assures her that Mozzie would crack it. She tells him she had been chasing after the music box for a long time, and that she almost feels guilty for dragging Neal into her chase. Neal points out that he forced himself into it, and Alex agreed. She's just reaching into her bag when Peter and Diana burst into the room, telling her to put her hands up. She reveals that she's holding a small notebook, explaining that she was giving Neal her number. She promises to answer it for him 'from now on,' and leaves.

Alex and Neal first met when she appeared for what she believed was a job interview with Vincent Adler. It turned out to be a scare tactic, where Adler warns her away from his holdings. Alex discovers that it was Neal who set her up for the interrogation and faces him down outside Adler's building. She points out that he set her up, and he tells her that catching her is his job, and that her job is to not get caught. Alex tells him that's a fair point, and then cajoles him into buying her a drink when he asks what she wants from him.

Later, they return to his apartment and sleep together. She tells him that 'Nick Halden' is a good name, but tells him that she knows it's not his real one and that she recognizes 'a fellow grifter' when she sees one. Neal admits to it and asks her to tell him what she was really looking for. Alex then tells him about the music box.

Sometime later, Alex sends Neal a yellow origami flower, confirming that the music box is in the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.

Alex is being held in a room at a warehouse when Neal and Peter are brought in. Peter wakes up first, and when Neal is waking up, she slaps him to rouse him faster. Now that he's awake, Alex asks if they have a plan, to which Peter tells her that the FBI doesn't know where they are. Adler then walks into the room, and he reveals that he's already found the U-boat. Alex was left in the room while Adler took Neal and Peter down to the U-boat.

As Neal and Peter were forced to open the U-boat's hatch, Alex watched beside Adler from inside the room. When they activate the countdown for the TNT, Alex remembers her grandfather telling her the story of Midas, the king with the golden touch that destroyed himself. Adler realizes that she's Gerhard Wagner's granddaughter as Neal types out M-I-D-A-S on the old typewriter. The bomb is then deactivated.

Alex is still watching as Neal and Peter uncover the contents of the U-boat, which turns out to be treasures that the Nazis stole during World War II. When Neal cuts off communication with Adler, Adler takes her with him into the U-boat as hostage. Alex sees a set of keys and a Swiss knife hanging from one of her captors' belt and swipes it. Oblivious to the theft and pleased at the discovery of lost treasure, Adler tells his men to take Alex, Neal and Peter for 'a limo ride.' Alex stuggles and refuses to leave, telling 'Vincent' to just kill them. Adler agrees, but Peter talks him down. Adler has them drugged once more, and taken out of the U-boat and the warehouse.

When Alex wakes up, she, Neal and Peter are stuck in a dry dock, where Adler's men opened the dam and intended to drown them. Hands wrapped in zip ties, Peter points out that they need to find a way loose, and Alex tells them she has a knife. When Peter points out that they were searched, Alex says that they didn't search everywhere and motions to her bra. Neal, lying in front of her, reaches for it with his teeth and Alex comments that it's 'just like old times.' Once they were all loose, they head out of the dry dock, only to find that Adler's men were still there. The men shoot at them, and they all duck for cover until Diana and Jones finally find them. Relieved, she and Neal say that they saved each other and share a kiss.

Alex is taken back to the FBI's office and helps them find Adler. She overheard Adler saying that he would ship the treasures out by boat, but can't until the end of the week. Peter is pleased at her report and asks what else she remembers about the warehouse. She tells him what she can, and he thanks her for her help.

After the meeting, she and Sara introduce themselves, where she learns that Sara is not an FBI agent and works for Sterling Bosch. Neal cuts in, and Sara leaves so that they could have more time together. Alex tells him that she approves of Sara and disputes his claim that 'it's not like that.' Neal changes the subject and asks how long she's known about the U-boat, and Alex reveals that she's known since she was a little girl. Her grandfather would take her to Coney Island and points to the water, telling her that there was treasure just out there. Neal returns the piece of the music box she'd given him, and she says that her grandfather gave it to her on his deathbed, asking her to find it for him. She then tells Neal that he reminds her of the treasure, just out of her reach. She tells him to take care, and leaves.

They met for the first time when she arrived at an appointment with Vincent Adler. After being interrogated by Adler, she singled Neal (then named Nick Halden ) out and pointed out that he set her up, and he replied by telling her that it was his job to catch her, and her job to not get caught. She then asked him out for drinks and slept with him hours later. She told him about the music box and tried to steal it with him in the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, but they had to abandon the heist. Wounded after jumping off a gatehouse, she checked into a hospital in France and discovered that Neal had left. This made her resent him and she didn't visit him when he was incarcerated.

When Neal found her again in New York, she refused to work with him, stating that it was because he was working for the FBI as a consultant, although the real reason may be because she felt betrayed that he'd abandoned her after the Copenhagen heist went awry.

Before she left in the episode 'Copycat Caffrey,' she gave him a piece of the music box that she'd gotten from her grandfather on his deathbed, and told him that, "Kate's gone, but the rest of us are still here," before kissing him, indicating that she still had feelings for him.

She later gave her number to Neal in the episode 'Point Blank' in a gesture of friendship, assuring him that she would answer the phone for him.

In 'Under the Radar,' she told Neal that he was like the treasure she had spent her life looking for--'a wonderful fantasy that's just out of reach.'

Mozzie and Alex are work-friends, presumably brought together by Neal Caffrey after the incident with Vincent Adler.

In the Season 1 finale, they help Neal steal the Music Box from the Italian Consulate.

During Season 2, Mozzie brings Alex back to New York, hooking her up with Russell Smith, 'an old friend from Detroit.' When Smith tries to sell Alex out to the people looking for her, Mozzie ropes Neal into helping her.